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Friday, November 18, 2016

Today I am going to introduce you to painter Lisa Kimberly Glickman. Earning degrees from both Rhode Island School of Design and McGill University, Lisa is a native of Montreal, Canada and has been painting since she was a child. Read on to learn more about Lisa, her process, and her advice to other artists.

Photo courtesy of Lisa Kimberly Glickman

My questions are in bold, Lisa's answers follow.

How long have you been an artist?

Ever since I could hold a utensil, before 5 years old I guess! I am not able to live off my art so I also teach; but hope one day to be able to paint truly full time. In the mean time, I usually teach mornings and paint afternoons, and all day when I have a day off, and sometimes at night.

Are you solely a painter or do you work in other media as well?

I have worked in glass, and mixed media, and I paint objects usually made out of wood, like old furniture.

Do you work in oil, acrylic, watercolor?

In the past I worked exclusively in oil. Once I had children and was concerned about fumes I switched to acrylic and from that standpoint was totally self-taught by experimenting with the limits of what I could do with acrylics. The paints of today are far superior to what I first used in the 80s. I occasionally work in watercolor. I would consider acrylic to be my main medium now.

Do you have favorite subject matter?

Figurative works including animals and people are my favourite to do; but I love colour above all so anything that allows me to play with colour relationships is what I enjoy. Lately I have been trying to do landscapes devoid of ambient living things; in the past the landscape has been a supporting player for my animals.

Do you have favorite brushes or tools?

I love all kinds brushes for different things! I use filberts, rounds, flats, and angles. I use housepainting brushes too, especially when laying down background (I don’t paint on white canvas or plain wood) I love to use a big brush and spray bottle with airbrush medium and water to get those nice drips and flow happening. I never use fan brushes; that would be my least favourite! I love the synthetic brushes in the Black Silver Dynasty series for their bounce. Some of them are softer than others and suitable to use with very wet thinned paint. I also love scrubby old hogs’ hair brushes for the textures I can achieve, and for scumbling. I use my fingers, and sometimes paper towel or cloth to wipe things off. I almost never use palette knives except for mixing paint or applying modeling paste.

What keeps you happy in the studio?

Loud rock and roll music - I often dance while painting: but also jazz, Celtic, instrumental. Of course great light is essential, & my dogs at my feet. And an inevitably cold coffee.

How is your work space set up?

I have a dinner table which is covered with a plastic tablecloth. On it I keep a tub of each of my base colours at hand, and a huge assortment of brushes, multiple water containers (some for warm colour brush washing and others for cold colour washing). I have two table top easels and two stand easels. I have an adjustable ipad holder on wheels so that when I am working from one of my photos I can refer to it easily. Other images I print out 8 x 10 and tape to my easels.

Do you have any advice for those who want to be professional artists?

Try to paint everyday, remember that it takes at least 2000 hours to develop expertise….and that’s not for everything – that’s just for the one thing you’re working on that moment! If you are not working from life, take your own photos when possible so you can recall things first hand. This allows you more freedom to deviate from your photo, but capture the feeling you want.

Apply to show your work in everything and everywhere you think might be a good fit for your work.

Try to develop an ‘elevator” speech about your work, being honest and passionate, so you can sum it up in two minutes.

Never apologize.

Only show work you are proud of.

Don’t show people your reference photos (unless you are doing portraits). Your painting stands on its own.

Be brave and bold when working, you have nothing to lose by painting over things. You will only get better and better.

Friday, October 21, 2016

Every Wednesday on our social media channels--Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram--we have our weekly shout-out to see our you putting our brushes to work! I call it #showyourwork Wednesday. You can share photos of your painting and projects with us a few different ways.

On Facebook, come on over to the Dynasty Brush page and share a photo with us--either as a comment to our weekly #showyourwork post, or as a visitor post on our page.

On Twitter, share a photo with us by tweeting us @dynastybrush or adding #showyourwork or #dynastybrush to your tweet. I just may retweet your photo to all of our followers!

On Instagram, post a photo and tag us @dynastybrushes or add the hashtag #dynastybrush. We may repost your pic!

When you share a photo, please tell us what line of Dynasty brushes helped you create your masterpiece. And don't worry if you aren't quite done with your painting, yet--we LOVE to see your work in progress!

Don't be shy--let us know you're out there! Share a photo with us next Wednesday!

Hello!

Welcome to the Dynasty Brush blog--a place to learn about Dynasty brushes and the artists who use them. While you are here, be sure to check out our Featured Artists and Artist Resources pages. New posts go up on the first and third Fridays of the month. For more frequent updates, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Just search for "Dynasty Brush."